Merry Christmas Blog Friends!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a happy holiday! 

To kick off this post, I thought it would be great to spoil you guys with another Fairfield re-pack rip! My oldest son and I were at Rite Aid grabbing some stocking stuffers for my wife when I spotted these 2 boxes. I really wasn’t going to buy them, but my son said, “Daddy, you should treat yourself.” For a 4-year-old, he’s pretty convincing. I decided to get them. 

Since Christmas falls on the 25th of December, I decided to show you my Top 25 cards from these 2 Fairfield re-packs. Before I get to the list, enjoy this festive photo of said re-packs. Don’t they look great next to our pencil tree in our living room?

So...what goodies did I get? Let's take a look!

25. 2017 Topps Cam Bedrosian All Star Game 2017

I guess these cards were given out at the All-Star Fan Fest back in 2017? Anyways, I got 3 of them, so I am starting this list off with all 3, so enjoy!

24. 2017 Topps Seattle Mariners All Star Game 2017

I have no idea if it's an unpopular opinion or not, but I really like all of these team cards. Some of them are pretty cool. Right now, I have 8 in my collection, and I dig 'em. I did like this photo, but not as cool as the player below...

23. 2017 Topps Buster Posey All Star Game 2017

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Catchers are cool, and what is cooler than a catcher named Buster? Nothing. 

22. 1990 Upper Deck Mike Greenwell

Was there a season this dude didn't hit for .300? Back in 5th grade I had 4 Mike Greenwell Rookies along with some other goodies and I was getting ready to trade this kid in my class named Jeff for his Joe Montana Rookie Card. During class my teacher caught me looking through the cards I was going to give away that day at lunch for the Montana and confiscated them. She said I could get them back at the end of the school year. Sadly, they were never to be seen again. I hope she enjoyed the 1967 Topps Juan Marichal and Bob Uecker cards I had in that stack. Anyways, Mike Greenwell reminds me of 5th grade. Even with such a bad memory being stirred up, I have no ill will towards Greenwell. 

21. 1994 Topps Future Star Jose Valentin

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I like Future Star cards more than the Rookie Cup cards. I have no idea why; they are just more pleasing to me. I had no idea this particular card existed as I had never pulled it before. My 1994 Topps Future Stars collection only consists of Butch Huskey and Paul Carey. Now, I add Jose Valentin. Thanks Fairfield! Also, before I move on, how many of the players featured on these Future Star cards have actually become stars? Does anyone have a clue? I may have to search the internet later for this.

20. 1989 Topps Traded Don Aase

Growing up next to my older cousins had some perks. One of them was, I was always getting taught bad stuff. When I say bad stuff, it was mostly swears. Everyone loved hearing swears when they were kids. I was no different. When I was about 6, I can remember my cousin Alan telling me this guy's last name was A$$. So, growing up, I thought that was his name and when I opened a pack of '88 Topps and I saw his name, I told my brother I got a Don A$$ card. My brother laughed, but my mom did not, and next thing I knew I was in trouble. Well Don Aase, you and Cousin Alan win this round. 

19. 1990 Fleer Stickers Pirates/Cardinals/Padres/Giants

This sticker was a surprise. It lands itself on this list due to having my hometown Pirates on it. Back in 1990, I had this sticker. I even remember where I put it. It was stuck on my BMX bike that I got for my 8th birthday. Between Garbage Pail Kids, Hockey logo stickers and Basbeall logo stickers, that red bike got a facelift by me. I loved the crap out of that bike. No one wants to mess with the kid who has a Pirates sticker and pegs on his bike, I can tell you that much!

18. 2000 Upper Deck Star Rookie Chad Durbin

Ok, I have to admit, I have no idea who this guy is. I was just pumped to see I got a Star Rookie card from Upper Deck in this thing. The photo kinda sucks, the design kinda sucks, but it's probably one of the better cards I got out of these boxes. So, enjoy my crappy card!

17. 1980 Topps Bruce Boisclair

Boisclair isn't a guy I recognize either. He lands on this list for being the oldest card received in the 2 re-packs. This guy looks like this kid I went to college with named Tyler. At the time, I thought Tyler looked like the lead singer from the band Saves The Day, so I guess Boisclair does too? I have no idea; I haven't seen that singers face in 20 years probably. 

16. 1986 Donruss Diamond Kings Phil Bradley

Confession time, I had no idea Phil Bradley was good enough to land on a Diamond Kings card. Also, he played for the Mariners? Jeez, I have no idea how I never knew this information. This may make me go down a Phil Bradley rabbit hole later to be honest. Mr. Bradley was the first card I ever put in the spokes of my bike. I had 6 copies of his 1989 card, and since it was the card I had the most of, it met its demise. This card actually has some chipping on the bottom edge. Fairfield couldn't even give me a near mint Phil Bradley Diamond Kings card. This might meet my oldest son's spokes!

15. 1986 Fleer Update Bob Tewksbury RC

The face only a mother could love. I still remember his 1988 Topps card with the close up of his face. Poor guy. Well, at least he made the majors!

14. 2012 Topps Hisashi Iwakuma RC

Seattle has had so many Japanese imports on their teams. Iwakuma was actually pretty decent. I had him on my fantasy team in 2013 and he pitched very well for me. The next season, I tried to draft him again and he went super early to one of the IT guys that worked at my company. He ended up winning that year and Iwakuma was a big reason why winning 15 games. I saw this card and was honestly kinda pumped to have it! Pretty sweet grab in a Fairfield re-pack!

13. 1989 Topps Traded Jamie Moyer

I was a Jamie Moyer fan. I think I like a lot of boring pitchers like Kevin Brown, Andy Benes, Moyer, Brandon Morrow. Just like the Iwakuma card, I was pumped to see this Moyer card in my re-pack. I couldn't remember if this was his rookie or not, and it turns out, it is not. His rookie is actually in 1987 Topps. I think I might pick one up since I don't own one yet. 

12. 1988 Fleer The O's Brothers Bill and Cal Ripken

This card is pretty neat. I never knew it existed! A card with the Ripken brothers on it definitely will land on a list of cool stuff to pull from a Fairfield re-pack! In this photo Cal looks distracted and Billy looks bored. It's almost like the camera man caught them on a bad day or something. Who knows?

11. 1988 Topps Traded Dave Henderson

Did you ever play games of baseball in someone's yard in your neighborhood and pretend that you were on a major league team, and you were one of the players? Don't lie, of course you have! We used to do that all the time. We didn't have a lot of kids in the neighborhood, so it was always 4 against 4. Sometimes someone would have to go eat dinner or go to the grocery store with their parents and we would have "ghost men" on the bases. Well, usually when I landed on my cousin Alan's team, we pretended to be the Oakland A's because he loved Jose Canseco. Of course, he was Canseco, and he would tell someone they were McGwire and he always assigned me as Dave Henderson. I was cool with it because he always had cool facial hair and could hit somewhat well. Henderson sadly passed away in 2015 and I remember reading about it and feeling sad. RIP Dave Henderson.

10. 1993 Topps Gold Major League Managers Bobby Cox / Johnny Oates

If you read my previous Fairfield post, you would know I am a sucker for Topps Gold cards. As soon as I saw this card I was pumped! Another one to add to my collection. Pretty cool that I got a Bobby Cox Topps Gold card though!

9. 1987 Donruss Diamond Kings Charlie Hough

A Diamond Kings card of the legendary knuckleballer! Sweet deal! I had a closer look at this while typing up the post and the upper left corner of this thing is dinged. Bummer! I still think I am going to add this to the binders my wife bought me for Christmas that I didn't accidentally see in our closet in the corner where I wasn't supposed to be looking...

8. 1987 Topps Ryne Sandberg

If you made it this far, what the heck is wrong with you? There was a run of 1987 Topps cards in box #2 that I opened, and 2 cards really caught my eye. The Sandberg was one, and another might possibly end up on this list as well. If you want to continue reading you might see it. I always loved 1987 Topps. Especially the Bo Jackson Future Star card. At one point in time, I had almost the complete set, but once my nephew was 10 or so, I gave him a bunch of my stuff to enjoy. Wish I still had my Bo Jackson back, but oh well. Sandberg lands on the list because who doesn't love the wood bordered 1987 Topps set? The answer is everyone loves it. 

7. 1988 Topps Traded Jack McDowell RC

Jack McDowell is a nice guy...at least I think he might be. I wrote to him a while ago for a TTM auto and he signed it and sent it right back within a 7- or 8-day span. It was pretty awesome. A lot of guys just throw my handwritten letter and card away (I'm talking about you J.T. Snow and Pat Rapp), but not McDowell. I have plans to send this to Jack to sign, so I am very glad to have this card. It's also so weird not seeing McDowell with some facial hair. 

6. 1991 Score 1st Round Draft Pick Donovan Osborne RC

Cheesy design? Yes! Everything I love about early 90's cards! I once had a 1992 Upper Deck Diamond Debuts card of Osborne. He was signing a baseball or a card on the photo on the front (this is just from memory), but I'm pretty sure that's what was going on. This card will make only the 2nd Osborne I've ever owned and with it being a rookie (at least I suppose it is), he lands high on this list. 

5. 1987 Topps Darren Daulton RC

Not only did I get 1 of these, but I received 2! Merry Christmas to me! The one I didn't scan had some sort of dirt above his left shoulder and it damaged the cardstock on the front a bit. I was a fan of Daulton growing up. Dutch was a decent power-hitting backstop for the Phils in the early to mid-90's and I think he was an All-Star 2 or 3 times. Later on in his life he went a little crazy and I think dabble in occultism. I had to look this up to see if I wasn't telling you guys gollywoggles, and apparently, I was correct, and he wrote a book on the matter. Sadly, Dutch passed away in 2017 due to a battle with brain cancer. RIP Dutch!

4. 1989 Score Traded Jeffrey Leonard

My pal, good old Jeffrey Leonard shows up in my re-pack! If you haven't read my previous post on Mr. Leonard, you can read it here. 

3. 1999 Pacific Paramount Travis Lee Copper Parallel

If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is a "hit". The box does say autos, game used or parallels inserted. I did like Travis Lee back in the day. I used to get a subscription to Sports Cards magazine when I was ages 10-14. One of the issues had Travis Lee as a player to watch and I paid a premium for his Bowman rookie card. About 5 years ago, I sent it to Travis, and it came back to me that I had the wrong address. I was using the Autograph Collector's book that was a bit outdated, so once I actually get the newer version, Mr. Lee will be hearing from me again. I have that card tucked away with the handwritten letter somewhere in my office and it will stay there until I try again and will probably add this one too. 

2. 1988 Donruss Rated Rookie Mark Grace RC

 

I was pretty fired up to get this in one of my re-packs! Mark Grace was a pretty big name when I was growing up. This had to be a pretty big card back in 1988. When I was 8 or 9, his cards brought a premium in trades around school and in my neighborhood. In Grace's last season as a player, I saw him play while he was on the Diamondbacks and a drunk guy in front of my buddy and I kept yelling at him to retire. Honestly, at first it got a bunch of laughs, but after 7 or 8 innings of it, people were getting annoyed. I wish Mark could have punched this guy in the face to shut him up. If you're out there Mark Grace, I'm sorry I didn't kick that guy's butt for you that night.

1. 1990 Fleer George Canale / Kevin Maas RC

In 1990, this was a big card. Maas was a hot commodity, and his cards were easy to sell or trade. I once saw this card selling for $3-$4 at card shows. Did you know that Maas ended his MLB career with the Minnesota Twins? If you didn't, there is a crazy Maas card in Fleer Update maybe in 1995. You know, the one where it looks like the Fleer designers were on heavy doses of acid. I know I have it somewhere and I'll have to dig it up. It might be worthy of a blog post at some point in time. I am pretty sure Maas is a good guy. He signed a TTM auto for me once on his 1990 Upper Deck RC. If it was 1990, I would have had gold in my hands. I'm pretty nostalgic when it comes to cards, and things like that, so this card to me is pretty rad. If you made it this far, congrats, you just read 25 paragraphs about crappy baseball cards! Also, if you're reading this on December 25th, Merry Christmas!

I'll leave you with this...